Chapter 4
You gazed out the window as you flew over New York, thousands of bright, glowing pools of light sprinkled throughout the view like all the stars in the night sky condensed into one picture frame. The top of towers, dark grey against the obsidian, scraped the bottom of the clouds many metres below you. Between the lines of shapes and shadows were paths bustling with life and lit by the light of hundreds of vehicles, moving together in one direction on the right and the opposite on the left. You scanned the vehicles, surprised they weren't out of range of your scanner, learning that they were cars.
"Never been to New York before?" the woman you had stood beside earlier asked. You weren't sure how much information you were allowed to share with other people or how much they already knew.
"I've visited the outskirts," you said. That was vague enough. She nodded, following your gaze to admire the view alongside you.
"It's nice, isn't it?"
"It is," you agreed. For as long as you could remember, your tribe's village at the top of the harshest mountain in the sector was the only thing you had known. Seeing a City, an Earthen one at that, was a mesmerising experience. The woman put her hand out in front of her.
"I'm Agent Hill," she said. You frowned, looking at her hand and wondering what you were meant to do. A quick Google search told you to shake it back. Your pause was still long enough to earn a suspicious look from the agent.
"It's nice to meet you," you said. She gestured to your uniform.
"So this is your first mission," she said, "I bet you're glad to finally be out from behind a computer. What did they have you doing? Mission reports or intel?"
"Uh, neither," you said. It was becoming increasingly obvious that this agent knew nothing about you. A voice echoed through the jet before you could continue your conversation.
"This is Fury speaking. We are a few minutes away from our destination so I'll remind you of the plan. Half of you will land on the east side of the building, the rest on the west; your phones should tell you where you're landing. Leave the jet in small groups and stay hidden for as long as possible." All the agents unbuckled their seatbelts and you followed suit, checking their phones to prepare for the mission. You glanced around the room, attempting to identify something that might give you direction on what to do. You were too occupied to notice Natasha walking up to you.
"Here," she said, making you jump, "Your phone." She handed you a phone with the S.H.I.E.L.D. logo engraved onto the back, the device giving you coordinates and a position. "You'll need this too." She handed you a small, black item. "It's an earpiece, you put it into your ear. When you want to talk to the team, place two fingers on it. Understood?" You nodded, double-checking all your equipment to make sure you were ready. As you were doing so, the jet's backdoor opened and two agents stood on the edge, grabbing the straps of their backpacks before jumping. You did a quick scan of the backpacks, your search flooding your brain with information about parachutes. You pointed to the backpacks of the next two agents readying themselves to leap.
"Do I need one of those?" you questioned.
"No," Natasha said, "You haven't been trained to use them so you're with me. You'll see what I mean in a minute." It took a few minutes for most of the agents to exit the jet, leaving you, Natasha and two others on board. You shivered as the cold night air whipped through the jet, your hair pushed back by the force of the wind. Nat went over to get a backpack but this one was different to the rest – it had extra straps and a clip. She threw you a belt with a hoop in the centre and you tightened it around your waist, making sure it wasn't loose. She gestured for you to stand in front of her after her parachute was secured. "You're going to put your arms through these straps after I've clipped myself to your belt, got it?"
"Understood," you said. As soon as you heard the clip click, you slid your arms through the straps. You were at the edge of the jet, barely an inch away from the edge. You felt a squeeze of butterflies in your stomach and your head felt light, the world below you looking so vast and far away.
"Are you ready?" Natasha said, hardly audible above the wind.
"I think so," you shouted back.
"Alright, let's jump together." You sprang upwards and your feet left the ground, your body seeming to freeze in mid-air before you were plummeting down to Earth like a lightning bolt, the wind rushing into your face. Your heart lurched as you neared the buildings below you and you closed your eyes, preparing yourself for impact but it never came. Instead, you were thrown back up to the sky and your descent was slowed, the flight path of the parachute becoming controlled. You strained your head and looked up, only just catching a glimpse of the open parachute. "Are you okay?" Natasha said, her mouth only centimetres away from your ear.
"I'm okay," you said, "That was honestly a bit terrifying." She chuckled. From your current height, the wonders of New York City were closer to you than before, the light shining into your eyes until it blurred at the periphery of your vision.
"I can imagine. It'll get easier, I promise." You noticed her arms on either side of you, guiding you to a building in the distance. Your brain scanned over it automatically, highlighting the lower roof of the building in red. You assumed your phone had connected to your brain. As you got closer, Nat tilted you at a different angle and you landed on the roof, pulling you back as you nearly tripped forward and fell.
"Thanks," you said out of breath and she nodded at you in acknowledgement, discarding the parachute and unclipping herself from your belt. She pressed two fingers onto her earpiece.
"All agents are now in position," she said.
"We move to phase two. Make your way to your coordinates." Your brain alerted you to a spot in the building below you, text scrawling across the corner of your screen, giving you directions to your assigned coordinates. You and the other agents on the roof separated and you found a ladder on the side of the building, making your way down it. Your brain directed you to a window that had no signs of human life behind it. There were two thuds behind you and you turned around to see Natasha and Agent Hill. Hill stared at you, baffled.
"How did you get down without a zip wire?"
"I climbed down a ladder; my scanner found it." Your answer made her look even more sceptical. "I'm a cyborg," you explained, gesturing to the beginning of your synthetic arm, the only cyborg part of you that was showing. She raised an eyebrow and looked over to Natasha for a reaction but her face didn't give one. You turned back to the window and stepped towards it, reaching out your hand.
"Let me," Hill said, taking out a sharp tool. You dismissed her offer.
"It'll be easier if I melt it," you said. Hill laughed.
"Glass has a melting point of 2,700 to 3,100 degrees Fahrenheit… Holy shit!" she exclaimed as you touched the window, the glass melting away into an entrance big enough for you to get through. You stepped inside the building and Natasha followed close behind, both of you looking back at Hill who was staring at you with her mouth wide open.
"Now isn't the time Maria," Natasha said. She stepped through the melted glass, avoiding the broken shards, refusing to take her eyes off of you. Once she was through, you strode down the corridor towards the spot your brain highlighted in red, keeping an eye on the human activity in the building.
"I thought your name was Hill," you said to her.
"We need to be quiet," she muttered, "Someone might hear us…"
"No one is on this floor," you said, "And the material around us is too dense for people on other floors to hear." You stopped at the end of the corridor, doors on either side of you. Your screen alerted you to the left door and you pointed at it, letting Natasha lead the way.
"Your cyborg thing is creeping me out," Hill whispered as the red dot on your tracker grew bigger and bigger, "and Hill is my surname. All agents are referred to by their surname, why don't you know that?" You decided it would be best to ignore her question. There were a few moments of awkward silence before your tracker detected someone entering your floor. You spotted a door and signalled to the others to be quiet and hide. The three of you leaned against the wood as you watched the speck of blue walking towards you. Maria took out a weapon from her pocket and your scanner confirmed to you that it was a gun. You held your breath as the blue figure passed by your hiding spot before disappearing down the corridor and out of your view.
"They're gone," you said. You slipped out from behind the door and continued following the coordinates until you reached them, a door directly in front of you leading to a spacious room that was abundant with human activity. You assumed the room was where the meeting was taking place. You looked up and saw another group of blue figures on the opposite side of the room and on each side, presumably the other S.H.I.E.L.D. agents. You looked to the Agents on either side of you who both had guns in their hands.
"We're ready, Fury." A voice suddenly echoed through the whole building.
"McCoy, we have you surrounded. Surrender now or face the consequences." Many blue figures appeared on your scanner in seconds, surrounding you on every floor.
"There are people all around us and I don't think they're S.H.I.E.L.D. agents," you informed Natasha. She pointed to a CCTV camera in the corner of the corridor that was now radiating red light.
"The CCTV is back on." The blue figures grew bigger and bigger across your vision. Maria cursed, pressing her fingers onto her earpiece.
"Fury, this is an ambush. I repeat, this is an ambush." The first blue figure reached your floor and once he turned the corner, he appeared in front of you. Seconds later, there was a bang and he fell to the ground, Natasha's gun directed at where he stood only moments before.
"Agents, this is no longer a peaceful operation," Fury said, "Make sure McCoy doesn't escape."
"I'll go into the meeting room," Maria said as many more blue figures approached us, "Natasha, you take down the gang members on the right. Whatever your name is, deal with the left side." You both nodded in agreement and she burst through the door as the first of many gang members entered the corridor. You prepared a ball of fire in your hand and aimed it at their guns, melting them in a matter of seconds. The men behind them hesitated, staring at the melted gun with wide eyes. Their pause was fatal. You used the opportunity to melt all of their guns as Natasha fired shots behind you. One by one, your attackers fell until there were no more blue figures on your tracker. You looked up to see several blue figures in conflict with each other on the other side of the meeting room, more flooding into either end of the corridor.
"We should go help the others," you said and Natasha nodded. Your ear was flooded with the sound of gunshots and shouting as someone spoke it into their earpiece.
"There's too many of them; Richards is unconscious. Two others are injured." This information gave Fury a better picture of the situation.
"We're on our way," Natasha said as you ran towards the other S.H.I.E.L.D. agents.
"No, we need to abort the mission before more Agents get injured. Make your way to the roof and onto the jet." You began your descent up the stairs before Agent Hill's voice sounded in your ear.
"Fury, I have eyes on the target. Do you still want me to pursue him?" A beat.
"Only if you think you stand a chance." You scanned your vision, spotting a blue figure running down a corridor directly below the meeting room and another closely behind it. However, the one in front was headed towards a room with many more blue figures in it.
"Agent Hill, it's not safe," you said, "There's too many of them down there." Despite the risks, the opportunity was still too good to be missed.
"Okay, change of plan. Our newest agent and Agent Romanoff, could you please assist Maria in the capture of McCoy?" he instructed. Natasha gave you a nod. This would be the perfect way to gain Fury's trust.
"Lead the way," she said. You opened the door in front of you and entered the room onto an elevated platform, the meeting space many metres below you. You walked up to the railing, glancing down to see an elongated table covered with paper and pens, a screen projected on the right wall behind a seat with black, velvet cushions and armrests embedded with silver studs. You noticed an amber liquid soaking the paper and dripping from the table, creating a trial on the floor.
You checked for the blue figures again, the blurs descending to the ground floor of the building. Your scanner picked up on a door below you and you motioned to the ladder, Natasha running in front of you towards it. She took hold of either end of the ladder and slid down, jumping back and landing on both her feet. You climbed down the first few rungs before leaping backwards with much less skill, yelling out as your spine collided with a chair. "Are you okay?" Natasha offered her hand to you and you pulled yourself up without a second thought.
"I'm fine," you said. Just before you left the room, she stopped in her tracks, also noticing the liquid. She pressed her fingers to her earpiece.
"Director Fury, there's gasoline in the meeting room."
"Then you need to move fast." You sprinted down the corridor, your back still aching with pain and your scanner picked up on six blue figures on your path to Maria and Finnian. "We're approaching Arkursa members."
"How many?" Natasha questioned.
"Six," you answered. You turned the corner and six men stood on guard, reacting as soon as you caught their attention. You flexed your fingers and two flames of fire appeared in your palm before they were soaring straight towards their guns. As soon as all their guns were melted, Natasha rushed up to them and knocked them down one after the other, swinging at them, kicking and punching them with an insane amount of skill and talent. She launched herself at a light and swung herself onto the last guard's shoulders, swinging her legs around his neck until he tumbled to the floor, his head smacking against the wood. Your jaw dropped.
"That was incredible," you breathed. There was an alert in the corner of your screen and you looked up to see many more blue figures heading straight for you. "There's more coming for us."
"Go after Maria," Natasha said, "I'll join you as soon as I can." You nodded, touching the back of her hand before finding the two blue figures you were looking for on your scanner and darting down the corridor. After a few minutes of chasing, you opened a door that flooded your eyes with darkness, the outline of a fleet of stairs that would lead you to the bottom of the building barely visible. You nibbled at the corner of your lip when you saw how close Maria and Finnian were to the other blue figures but you were right behind them.
You practically threw yourself down the stairs, catching sight of Maria just before she entered the basement. Without thinking, you shouted her name, losing any element of surprise you had and alerting the gang to your presence.
As the attackers rushed through the door, Maria ducked out of the way, giving you a clear path to send a wave of fire at the attackers' guns, accidentally burning their hands in the process. You cringed at your mistake.
The attackers recovered from the blow quickly, their eyes burning with malice before Agent Hill came to her senses and shot them in their heads. You flinched at each bang, your heart thumping against your chest as they collapsed, blood spilling onto the floor.
"Melting glass girl," Maria said as more members rushed in, "Just burn them!" You shook your head – that would mean inflicting immense pain. You might give them permanent scars or marks and maybe, you would even kill somebody. "What are you waiting for…" There was a cry of pain as a gun went off, the material covering Maria's leg torn by a bullet and dark crimson started to soak into her clothing. You sent a flame at the perpetrator's gun and he let go of the burning pulp of metal, clasping his wrist in agony. If you didn't act now, Maria's vulnerable state would put her in lethal danger.
Going against all your core morals, you felt the heat at the tips of your fingers and you aimed, letting the fire radiating from your skin burn the legs of the Arkursa members as they crossed over the doorway. Your gasps of air were sharp as your victims led unconscious on the floor.
The only person who got back onto their feet was McCoy, who you recognised from Fury's picture, all his weapons a pile of ash on the floor. You ran forward as soon as his eyes fell on Maria, noticing her injury. You screamed as he punched her across the face, grabbing the back of her suit and trapping her in a headlock. If he squeezed any tighter, she would start to choke. You prepared a flame of fire in your hand, aiming it at his head.
"If I see even a glimmer of fire in your hand, she's dead," he yelled. You reluctantly diminished it, sweat trickling down your forehead. Your mind raced with thoughts, trying to think of a way to capture McCoy without killing Maria. The only way would be to seriously hurt him. Maria began to let out strangled coughs from the tightness of Finnian's grip, trying to speak but failing. Natasha's voice suddenly sounded through your earpiece.
"I'm in the CCTV room and I have eyes everywhere," Natasha said, "Where are you… Oh, God." Despite her injury, Agent Hill was still trying to fight against the leader and your eyes connected with hers, tears building in your eyes. There was every chance something could go wrong and if it did, it would be your fault. The anguish in her eyes made your heart ache. "Director Fury, a fire has been started in the building. McCoy currently has Agent Hill trapped in a headlock."
"Then you have permission to kill," Fury said, "Just get out of there as fast as you can." A singular tear spilt from your eye and McCoy smirked.
"You're a fucking kid," he mocked, "Am I supposed to feel threatened by you?"
"Don't listen to him," Natasha said, "Just take him out." You tried to move your hands but it was as if you were trapped in a clock that was frozen, paralysing your limbs. 'How could I?', you thought, 'how could I kill this man?' Natasha caught on to your hesitation.
"Isa, listen to me. I know you've never killed someone before but just think logically about it. This man's death is justifiable." Was it? Was the death of anyone justified?
"I'll do a deal with you kid," McCoy said, "If you let me go, I won't kill either of you." Maria was struggling in his hold, the adrenaline keeping her alive starting to fall away as she suffocated in his hold. The final seconds you had to make a decision were ticking away but the clock you were centered in was still stuck.
"Isa, kill McCoy. That's an order," Fury said. You clenched your fists.
"I'm sorry," you said under your breath. The arms of the clock swung into action and you sent a stream of fire from your hands straight into his neck, your lethal speed too quick for his reaction. His body slammed against the ground, taking Maria with him who gasped for air, her neck finally free. You covered your mouth with your shaking hand and backed away, not taking your eyes away from the charred flesh and blood spilling out onto the floor from the fresh corpse. You had done that. You could almost feel the stickiness of Finnian's blood soaking your hands. Maria dragged herself up onto her feet using the wall, her face retorted in pain.
"He's dead," Natasha informed Fury.
"The three of you are to head to the roof immediately." Your stomach churned with acid as the red from Finnian's body became a stream, his eyes full of colour but unmoving. The memory of the fire hitting his neck repeated in your head like a broken record, over and over and over. You were snapped back into reality when you heard Maria's whimper of pain as she attempted to drag her leg across the floor. You reminded yourself that you still had a mission to complete.
"I'm going to get us out of here," you said, more to yourself than her. You put Maria's arm around your shoulder and your arm under her legs, lifting her into your arms. Your scanner found the quickest path to take up to the roof. You strode towards the stairs, leaving Finnian's body behind you forever. You were glad that your upbringing meant you were strong enough to carry Maria with ease.
"The fire is heading towards the stairwells," Natasha said.
"I'll fly over to the East Side of the building," Fury said, "Keep climbing the stairs until you see a ladder." Your scanner picked up on the jet's location, following it as it travelled as you increased your pace.
"How did a fire even start?" you said.
"They're trying to burn any useful information we could find," Maria said. You noticed that her eyes were starting to close and half her leg was now stained by garnet. She needed imminent medical attention. You lifted the hand supporting Maria's back slightly and started blowing up the doors in front of you, the wood blasting to pieces before melting under the intensity of the heat. Your scanner highlighted a part of the building in red as the jet stopped outside a window two floors above us.
"The fire has reached the stairs," Natasha said, "There appears to be gasoline running down it."
"Maria, can you please activate my earpiece?" you asked before yelling, "Natasha, are you still in the CCTV room? Get out of there!" As you hit the next flight of stairs, a stream of gasoline ran past your feet, panic flooding your chest.
"I'm trying to locate you on the CCTV…"
"NATASHA!" me and Fury exclaimed, "Follow your orders." A few moments after Fury spoke, the stench of smoke hit your nostrils and the fire reached the fuel on your floor, lighting up the stairwell, heat pricking at your skin. Maria's arms wrapped tighter around your neck and you held her away from the flames, checking your target. You were so close.
You were forced to slow down to avoid the fire and your muscles burnt under Maria's weight. The leg of your suit caught fire and you screamed, waiting for the pain but to your shock, there was none. With this new knowledge, you sped up your movements, protecting Agent Hill with your body. Her nails dug into your neck.
"How are you doing all this?" she said, "First you can create fire with your hands and now you're immune to it?" You coughed as smoke began to seep into your lungs, glancing down to see your non-synthetic flesh and Maria's face coated with grey.
"I'm not from here," you said.
She hesitated for a moment before she screeched, "YOU'RE AN ALIEN?" You decided to ignore her comment, dedicating your complete energy to climbing the stairs as fast as possible, the fire beside you flickered with more and more power each second. You let out a sigh of relief when you spotted a rope ladder dangling in front of a window, your scanner highlighting the jet a few metres above you.
"Please can you pull up my sleeve?" Despite her confusion, Maria did as you asked. You felt the material of your suit being rolled up and as soon as you reached the window, you pressed your bare skin against it, melting the glass away. You heard footsteps behind you and you turned around to see Natasha with blood paving its way down her cheek, her clothes ripped and her hair in tangles.
"Let me go first." You let her in front of you and she grabbed a hold of the ladder, pulling herself up. You helped Maria reach for a rung and she followed behind her. As soon as you were on the ladder, you supported Agent Hill's uninjured leg and when she reached the top, Natasha and another agent hauled her onto the jet. Once she was safely on, Natasha offered you a hand and pulled you up before closing the jet's door.
Maria was carried over to the back of the jet as agents rushed around her, some snatching random tools and bandages while others began to cut open the material of her suit.
"We're all on the jet," Natasha said into her earpiece. You leaned against a wall, your mind blurring as panic ensued around you. Your thoughts went back to McCoy and his severed neck, his body, his blood. You could still feel the heat against your skin, your lungs tight from all the smoke you had inhaled. An agent came over to you, snapping you out of your trance.
"Are you in need of medical assistance?"
"I'm fine," you said. He turned to Natasha who also dismissed him. You motioned to her face.
"There's a cut on your cheek," you said, "I think you do need medical assistance." She shook her head.
"It's nothing I can't handle." She left your side to assist an agent in cleaning Agent Hill's leg. You felt your guilt crawling up your esophagus and you tried to concentrate on your environment to distract you. You focused on your senses: the clatter of chaos and feet, the smell of disinfectant, the feel of clean air against your skin. Your adrenaline was ebbing away, your exhaustion catching up to you. You were hyper-aware of your breathing, noticing it leave and enter your nostrils. It was a miracle in more ways than one. It was also a curse. Breathing meant you had to live with what you had done.